Sexism row deepens as one university claims women ‘mature faster’ and male applicants need extra help

A sexism row engulfing Japan’s medical schools has deepened after two more universities admitted discriminating against female applicants, months after it was revealed that Tokyo Medical University had manipulated exam scores to favour male candidates.

Juntendo University and Kitasato University, both in Tokyo, said this week that they had set a lower pass mark for men than for women in order to secure a sufficient number male graduates to enter the medical profession.

Deteriorating balance sheets and political uncertainty blamed for redundancy threats

Universities are warning staff to prepare for redundancies in the new year as a result of deteriorating balance sheets and lowered forecasts for student recruitment, coupled with the uncertainty of Brexit and sudden shifts in government policy.

In recent days more than half a dozen universities have told staff there could be job cuts in 2019, including members of the research-intensive Russell Group such as the University of Cardiff, while others are privately bracing for cuts later in the year.

Organiser apologises ‘for the misunderstanding’ after comic pulls out of fundraiser

Comedians invited to perform at a benefit gig at Soas University of London have been sent a “behavioural agreement” that forbids them from tackling any topic in a way that is not “respectful and kind”.

Konstantin Kisin, a comedian and free speech campaigner, pulled out of next month’s event after being sent the contract.

Teachers across the US learned this year they can push back by withholding their labor. The spread of Acero’s example to other charters is a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’

On a freezing picket line Friday on Chicago’s north-west side, Elly Oldendorf, a second-grade teacher at Carlos Fuentes elementary in the Acero charter school network, was on day four of a strike. Bundled in winter gear, her coworkers behind her chanting about school funding to the tune of a Rihanna song, Oldendorf told me a story.

Marco Bussetti to tell teachers festive period is ‘time of rest for students and families’

Italy’s education minister has urged schools not to overburden children with homework during the Christmas holiday so they can spend more time with their families.

Marco Bussetti, from the far-right League, said he would send a circular to schools over the next few days asking teachers to reduce homework and reminding them that the festive period is “a time of rest for students and families”.

Outwood Grange Academies Trust’s use of ‘consequences rooms’ for hours at a time has drawn criticism from parents

Legal proceedings have been lodged in the high court against an academy trust for its use of so called isolation units to discipline pupils.

Lawyers have applied for a judicial review of Outwood Grange Academies Trust’s (OGAT) use of “consequence rooms” – small rooms in which a child sits alone and in silence for hours on end as punishment for breaking school rules. OGAT runs 30 schools across Yorkshire, the Humber and the east Midlands.

The seed was sown when my son Jack – then 10 and a massive fan of the books – said: “You do history programmes, Dad, why don’t you make Horrible Histories into TV?” I spent several years trying to persuade my colleagues, that a comedy history show for children was an idea worth backing. CBBC eventually did. Nearly 10 years, seven series and 2,000 sketches later, it’s been a wonderful adventure.

When university halls empty as students flock to their families, care leavers face a different festive season

Luke Collinson, a 19-year-old care leaver, knows he has defied all the odds by enrolling at Manchester University this year. So when his fellow students disappear this weekend to celebrate Christmas with their families, leaving him in a silent hall of residence, he insists he won’t be feeling sorry for himself.

At 15, after being unable to go to school for years because of family problems, Collinson taught himself to read. Shortly afterwards he was taken into care, and despite being predicted Us and Fs, with the help of a social services laptop he passed 10 GCSEs with good grades.

Ex-Londoners accused of creating elite community in Margate and ‘writing off’ local people

The migration of east London artists to the Kent seaside town of Margate has seen travel writers and property developers alike dub it Shoreditch-on-Sea. Central to this nomenclature has been Margate’s down-at-heel Cliftonville West ward, with its affordable six-bedroom former B&Bs, plentiful studio space and urban grit.

This seaside suburb is now set to see fee-paying bohemian education added to the mix, with the opening of a “democratic” fee-paying school, where the pupils make the rules and decide what they learn.